The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-02
A PENITENTIARY DOG.
How Ormsby Phillips Lodged Runa.
way Behind Prison Bars.
From. the Pittsburg Euening Press.

From the Pittsburg EUening Press.
eyes, knew the late Ornsby Phillips in
timately,n said a well-known physician,
who is member of the Pittsburg Press
Club as he sat in the club parlor the other
day. "He was a gentleman for whom
l always had the highest respect, and whose
memory revere But want to tell you of
little joke that he enjoyed in his quiet way
to the utmost"
The doctor leaned back in his chair, and
his auditors, two or three newspaper men,
prepared to listen to story.
81 need not tell you, gentlemen" COM
menced the doctor, chat I am fond of thor
oughbred animals, particularly dogs About
seven years ago bought in Scotland very
fine Scotch terrier He was of a pure
strain, and paid $50 for him. Well, as
soon as got home presented him to my
wife, and she became very fond of him. The
dog thieves around town found that | had
a valuable animal, and we did not have him
at home more than one-fourth of the
time. 1t cost me more than his value in re-
wards in the course of a few months. 1t
was amusing, too, to note his appearance
when returned by some thieving rascal who
had found him running loose on the streets,
and had taken care of him for humanity's
sake. Sometimes he came back all combed
and washed, with a neat blue ribbon around
his neck his tail banged, and general air
of oyer-fed embonpoint about him. On
other occasions he returned lean, hungry,
dirty. ragged and with scrap of rope tied
to him. Between these two extremes the
poor dog ran the whole gamut, and came
back in every stage Of dudism and rapscal-
honism.
t1At last I got tired of this sort of thing,
and declared that if the dog was stolen
again | would shoot him when he came
back. The next day be disappeared, and
this time [ did not recover him. Several
weeks passed, when one day l met Mr..
Phillips ON the street.
"'Doctor, he said, come over to the PEN
itentiary to-day. l want to show you some
fun
"'IVhat is it," I asked, "a hangingP
"'No, just a little fun. Come over this
afternoon, and 1 promise you some rare
sport
"Well, I went, and sure enough there was
good sport. 1t was what they call Rat day
at the penitentiary, and there was very
lively time on the greensward inside the
penitential'v walls There were some half
dozen good dogs, each i'll the care of life
convict, hunting rats out of every hole and
corner and killing them i'll the highest style
of the art. 1t is absolutely necessary to
dispose of the rats wholesale occasionally or
the pf1SOn would De etiJcll up ny UutLil. lIc
dogs did noble work, and as you know en-
ioy little lively sport of any kind, the
sight pleased me very much. But some
thing besides the business-like way in which
the rats were disposed of engaged my atten-
tion. In one of the most active pups l rec
opized a certain Scotch terrier that | had
seen before, and | said, almost involuntarlly
to Mr.. Phillips, who stood by my side:
"'Why, that's my Sam
"'Your whatF
"'My dog that l lost about six weeks
ago.
"Mr. Phillips looked at me gravely, but
Thought with twinkle in his eye
You are mistaken, doctor. That is my
dog. ,, .,,,
RWer, I was little suspicious, but still
when a gentleman in Mr.. Phillips position
said it was not my dog could only accept
the negative"
Sand how was il, doctorT broke in one of
the listeners WAS it your dog|
sit was and it wasn't remarked the doc
tor with hearty laugh. "You see, the dog
belonged to my wife, and when | declared
that would shoot it, she gave it to Mr..
Phillips and asked him TO care care OF It,.
He didn't know a safe place torit except the
penitentiary, so he informally committed 1t
Tor life, and Sam is having Jolly Time OF
it among the cross-barred gentry VINO form
the population OF Riverside. Mr. Phillips
often used TO laugh at rue afterward be-
cause tried TO claim his dog. | saw Sam
at Riverside not long ago. He seemed quite
resigned, and the officials say never tries to
escape